We left as we lived, Invisibly
by DeadFoxy
Summary: With the return of their Yamis, the Hikaris discover a dreadful truth. With time running out, they have a choice to make: To be or not to be, that is the question...
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note:**_ This was my first attempt at a chaptered story. It's short and not very well-written but I'm putting it on here as a memory of my first fanfiction story.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or any of its characters.

**Chapter One: The Decision**

Yugi sighed as he sat down at the table next to Ryou. Another day of being ignored by the very people they had once called friends. Ryou smiled sadly back at him before returning his gaze to his food. Ever since the Yamis had returned, Tea, Joey and the rest of the gang had grown increasingly more distant. Yugi, Ryou and Malik spent most of their time together now, apart from the others. After all, who'd want to spend time with them when their infinitely cooler darker halves were around? Sure, they were still occasionally invited to go places with them, but it was no big loss if they couldn't make it. The two Hikaris were brought out of their reveries when Malik dropped into the bench across from them with an indignant snort.

"Can you believe the nerve of my boss?" he grumbled, setting down his tray of unidentified cafeteria food. "He calls me this morning and says that I have to work double-shifts tonight because his precious 'Employee-of-the-Month' is sick!"

Yugi smiled as Ryou attempted to cheer Malik up. Who needed the others? He had Malik and Ryou, and as long as their Yamis were happy, they were happy.\

That evening, after picking Malik up from his second shift at the restaurant, the three of them were playing a very noisy game of cards in Yugi's room when the front door slammed and there was the sound of voices in the hall. It seemed that everyone had gathered to watch a movie. Sighing, Malik suggested that they stay at his place. Seeing as they didn't have school the next day, the other two agreed.

The Hikaris rather enjoyed sleepovers at Malik's. His sister, Ishizu, was always pleased to see them and they didn't even have to put up with Marik, as he usually stayed with Bakura when they came over. However, that evening everyone was a bit subdued. Odion was away on museum business and the boys were still disgruntled about being forced to leave just because the Yamis had plans. They sat staring into their mugs of hot chocolate, deep in though, when they heard the front door slam. Ishizu was home. Going through to greet her and help her carry in the groceries, they stopped at the serious (and slightly angry?) expression on her face.

"Ishizu, what's wrong?" Malik asked, following her into the kitchen with bags in his arms.

"I have been worried about something for a while now and my worst fears have been confirmed," she answered, her face grim.

"What's happened?" Yugi asked, alarmed.

"Ever since the Pharoah and others returned, I have felt a terrible shifting in the order of the universe," she replied mysteriously.

"And that means what exactly?" asked Ryou, confusion evident on his face.

"It means that you and your darker halves were never meant to be on the same plane of existence at the same time. When one is a physical manifestation, the other is merely a spirit. Because your darker halves are here with physical bodies, you are slowly being forced towards the 'Spiritual Plane'."

Silence followed this pronouncement before…

"WHAT!" Malik practically screamed. Ryou was shaking his head, his eyes shut tight and his hands over his ears in silent denial.

"Are you saying that we're going to die?" Yugi whispered.

"No, but you will slowly fade away until you are no longer corporeal. You will exist as a mere spirit, without physical substance, except with each other," Ishizu stated, tears slowly forming in her eyes. "The closer you are to your other halves, the faster and more powerful the fading will be."

"I can't believe it, it's not fair," muttered Malik, glaring angrily at his feet. "Oh will you shut up Ryou!"

Ryou, who had been attempting to deny the bad news by blocking his ears and singing 'la la la' at the top of his voice, cut off mid-la and burst into tears.

Yugi merely sat staring into space, disbelief, anger and misery battling for dominance. Eventually, he licked his lips nervously and turned back to Ishizu.

"How long do we have?" he asked hoarsely.

"It's been two months since they returned, so I estimate that you have approximately three weeks left at your current rate. However, you only have one week of school left before the holidays. If you leave with me for Egypt, we can extend those last two weeks into roughly a month," she replied, drying her eyes with a tissue.

He nodded, then looked at Malik and Ryou. "What do you guys think?"

Malik scowled but nodded and Ryou gave him a watery smile.

"I guess we're coming with you to Egypt," he told Ishizu

_**AN:**_ And that's the end of the first chapter. Let me know what you think. There are roughly four more after this, so it's fairly short, but hey, we all have to start somewhere. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN**_: Hi, here's the second chapter. Now, I know Marik is not a true Yami, but in my fics he will be. He always felt like one to me. He is also not as insane or childish in this fic as I usually like to write him. I feel that since he was created by Malik when he was a child, he should have some childish elements in him, including that special brand of cruelty that only children seem to be capable of. However, for this fic he is relatively sane and mature. Anywho, on with the show!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Yu-gi-oh! Or the characters.

**Chapter 2: Suspicions**

Atemu glanced at the other two Yamis. "Have either of you noticed that our Hikaris have been avoiding us? I know they've been a bit withdrawn lately, but now Yugi won't even talk to me."

Bakura shrugged, his eyes never leaving Ryou, who was sitting across the cafeteria with Yugi and Malik. "Ryou's hiding something from me. He's started locking his door and every time I walk into the room, the three of them stop talking and come up with some lame excuse to leave."

Marik nodded. "Something is definitely up. Ishizu knows, but every time I ask her to explain what's going on, she gets all teary-eyed and refused to comment. I have never seen her cry before, and now all of a sudden she's like a leaky faucet."

"I vote we go over there and demand an explanation," Atemu said, standing up suddenly. The other two nodded and headed towards the three boys, who had their heads together in whispered conversation.

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"I just don't know what to say. Writing this goodbye letter is harder than I thought," Ryou said, taking a sip of his soda.

"Don't ask me, I can't even talk to Atemu at the moment. Every time I try, my throat closes up and I have to run before I totally break down. I can't wait for Saturday," sighed Yugi.

"How about you say: _'Goodbye Yami. Thanks to you, I'm going to die exactly how I've been living these past few weeks. Invisible!'_" Malik growled, stabbing viciously at his food with his fork.

Ryou gasped but Yugi looked closely at Malik. "You didn't really write that, did you Malik? I know you're angry but I didn't think you'd be that bitter."

"No, I'm not, and I didn't. It's just…I want him to be happy, but why must we pay the price? My fingers started fading yesterday when he came home. I had to run for the bathroom before he could notice. I don't think I can last until the trip!" Malik cried out, despair clear on his face.

"What trip?" came a familiar voice and the three Hikaris jumped. There stood Atemu, Bakura and Marik, arms crossed and identical looks of suspicion on their faces.

The boys exchanged panicked glances before Ryou fixed a false smile on his face. "Ishizu offered to take the three of us away for the holidays. We knew you lot had plans so we agreed," he said.

"Oh, would you look at the time! We should get going! Come on guys," Yugi exclaimed, standing up and dragging Malik to the door. With one last terrified glance at the Yamis, Ryou hurried after the others, leaving their confused darker halves to look after their retreating forms in bewilderment.

"That was close!" breathed Yugi, leaning against a wall when they were out of sight. "How much do you think they heard?"

"I don't know, but we're going to have to be very careful. They're suspicious of us now," Malik replied, rubbing his hands tiredly over his eyes.

"I hope they didn't notice us fading," Ryou said worriedly, watching carefully as his fingers regained colour and came back into view.

"I doubt it. They would have said something," stated Yugi, flexing his hand to regain movement.

"Maybe. Let's just keep better control. I find that if you concentrate, you can sort of keep yourself visible. We'll just have to watch out these last few days," Malik remarked before heading towards his next class.

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**AN:** Well, there's the second chapter. I know it's not that long, and quite boring, but I feel that people need to see that the dark halves aren't completely uncaring. Also, Malik is very angry and bitter in this, but can't you see how he feels. He spent practically his whole life underground, in the dark. He's finally out, has a life, has friends, and it's all being taken away from him. My poor little, crazy, blonde Egyptian.

By the way, thanks to all who responded to my story: kuroneko 1571; gothabie283; Panguins-in-American-Oh-my; Wander of Souls and Light.

To Olivia Greene, Angelheart01 and Wannabe WolfGirl, you know I love you guys and I couldn't ask for better friends, or sister!


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Yu-gi-oh!

_**AN:**_ It's been a while. Things have been so busy I haven't even had time to talk to my friends over e-mail. I probably should contact them, but I need to finish this before I get bored and start with something else. So here it goes…

**Chapter Three: Secrets**

The next few days were the most trying for the three Hikaris and even Kaiba noticed the change in their attitude.

"Jumpy aren't we?" he asked in amusement when he walked in on the three having a whispered conversation in an empty classroom. They smiled at him weakly and hurried off, leaving him to frown at their strange behaviour.

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"Finally! School's over!" crowed Malik, stretching his arms to the sky. "I'm gonna burn all of my schoolbooks. It's not like I'll be needing them anymore," he confided to the other two.

Neither of them was listening. Yugi was gazing at the school with large, melancholy eyes and Ryou was staring in the opposite direction, looking decidedly sick. He pointed and Malik and Yugi turned to see the three Yamis talking with Odion, Yugi's grandfather and Ryou's father, who'd just returned from an archeological dig in Peru.

"Oh fudge!" Yugi murmured, searching desperately for an escape route. Just then, Solomon Moto looked up and saw them standing there.

"Boys, we need to talk to you. NOW!" he called. Reluctantly, the Hikaris trudged towards the group, rapidly fading hands shoved deep into their pockets.

"What's this about going away for the holidays with Ishizu?" Ryou's father asked, frowning. "When were you planning on telling us?"

"W…well, you see, the thing is…we," Ryou began, stuttering slightly and going red. They hadn't planned on saying anything. The letters were going to cover everything for them. They knew it was the cowardly escape, but they couldn't bring themselves to tell their families what was happening face to face.

Malik glared at the Yamis.

"Why'd you have to bring them into this?" he growled, inclining his head at the three adults.

"They had every right! You should try taking a leaf out of their books once in a while," Odion scowled. "You've been so sulky these days, not talking to anyone or helping around the house. Your boss called this morning to day that you haven't been pitching up for work!"

"And now we find out that you've been lying to us!" Grandpa Moto interjected angrily. "I don't know what your problem is, but you three better get your attitudes straightened out."

The three adults stalked off, leaving the Yamis with a teary Yugi and Ryou and a livid Malik.

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"How dare you!" Malik yelled, shaking with fury. The Yamis blinked in shock.

"We only had your best interests at heart. Something's wrong and we don't think that this trip is the best thing…"

Marik was cut off by an inarticulate cry of rage fro Malik. Ryou had gone even paler and Yugi surprised them all by starting to laugh bitterly.

"Our best interests at heart! Did you two hear that? They only had our best interests at heart!" he exclaimed, still laughing. By this time, Tea, Joey, Tristan and Duke had gathered to see what all the yelling was about. Atemu was staring at Yugi in concern, confusion evident on his face.

"I can't believe you actually had the nerve to say that!" Ryou snarled, causing Bakura and Marik to recoil slightly. Yugi stopped laughing abruptly and Malik took a step back as everyone else stared at the usually gentle boy. With an indignant snort, Ryou turned on his heel and strode off.

"I hope you're happy!" Yugi snapped, before running off after the taller boy.

Malik stepped forward. "Do us a favour, and don't do us any more favours," he hissed venomously. The rest of the gang could do nothing but stare in shock as he walked away, refusing to look at any of them.

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_**AN:**_ I'm so mean! And it's only going to get worse from here. Oh well, let's see what happens next…


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN: **_Hi. This chapter is very short. It's sort of like a filler. I'm kinda running out of steam here. It's been very busy lately and I'm not well. But you didn't come here to listen to me whine about my health so, here's the (very small) 4th chapter…

_**Disclaimer: **_I don't own the Yu-gi-oh! Or the characters, I just like to mess with them.

**Chapter 4: Sorry**

Atemu stared at the white envelope on Yugi's desk, his name written on the front in black ink. There was another one beside it, addressed to Yugi's grandfather, but he paid it no notice. He'd decided to apologize to Yugi and try to talk to him about what was bothering him and had gone into his room, but Yugi wasn't there. This was strange, as it was still quite early in the morning and Yugi was a late-riser. Looking around, he noticed that Yugi's deck was gone, as well as a bag and some clothing. But on the desk, next to the two envelopes, lay the Millennium Puzzle. With a feeling of deep foreboding, he picked up the envelope and opened it. Inside was a folded letter:

_Dear Atemu_

_This is probably the most difficult thing I've ever done. When I first met you, I was afraid. You were strong, confident and powerful and I was nothing but a short, little high school kid who got bullied by practically everyone. Why should you be any different?_

_But as time went by, I realized just how special you were. I began to think of you as someone I could depend on and talk to about everything. Then, I lost you. You left for the afterlife and suddenly there was this huge void in my life, a you-shaped hole nothing could fill. Ryou and Malik understood. Even though their Yamis had been sadistic and twisted, they still cared for their hosts, in their own way. And when you're missing half your soul, you tend to look over the other half's 'little flaws'. _

_But then the three of you came back, and we thought that it was the answer to all our prayers. So what if our friends started to drift away from us? As long as you were there, alive and happy, we were happy._

_Now, however, we've discovered that there was a price for this magic that brought you back, a sacrifice we weren't willing to let you make. Somebody had to pay for your return, and that was us. Ishizu did tell us that there was a way to reverse what is happening to us, but that it would happen to you instead. We refused. How could we honestly live our lives, knowing that we'd chosen to save ourselves over you? What kind of Hikaris would we be? I wasn't willing to let it happen, and neither were they. So we continued with our original plan of leaving with Ishizu._

_I hope that you have a wonderful life Atemu, and live every moment to the fullest. Take good care of Joey and all our friends, even Kaiba. Please look after my grandfather, and especially yourself. Just know that I regret nothing. I am proud to have been your Hikari._

_Goodbye my Yami_

_Yugi_

The letter dropped unnoticed to the floor as tears ran freely down his face. The heart-rending cry that brought Solomon Moto and Joey Wheeler (who'd popped by to see if Atemu had wanted to go to the arcade) running into the room, was filled with immeasurable pain and anger.

(At that very moment, Yugi, Ryou, Malik and Ishizu were boarding the plane to Egypt. Today was the beginning of the end.)

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"Where could they have gone? What do you think is happening to them? Why didn't they tell us? We could've helped! We could've found a way to reverse whatever it is! What do we do now?"

Atemu was pacing the floor, waving his arms around as he ranted and basically being useless in a crisis. He'd never been very good with emotional situations. That was Yugi's department. Comfort and sympathy were not his strong points.

"Would you shut up and sit down! I'm trying to think, and it's very hard to do that with you raving like a lunatic!" Bakura yelled, Ryou's letter still clenched in his fist. He hadn't let go of it since he'd found it a few hours earlier.

Marik was sitting perfectly still, glaring at his letter from Malik as if he expected it to start spouting answers. His eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to him.

"Where would you go if Domino City was no longer an option?" he asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "I'd go to a place that held special meaning to me, to all of us."

Atemu had stopped pacing and was staring at Marik, a look of wonder and understanding on his face. Bakura went rigid as realization hit.

"They're in Egypt!" he shouted, jumping to his feet.

"No duh, Sherlock!" Marik said, also rising from his chair, but there was a large smile on his face.

Atemu grinned. "Who wants to see the pyramids?" he asked.

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_**AN: **_Okay, so there's my short chapter 4. I realize that the Yamis were a bit OOC, but the mental image of Atemu pacing around with this whole 'I'm lost' expression and acting all frantic was too perfect. Also, I don't think Bakura is as uncaring and Marik as crazy as everyone makes out. The next chapter will be the last one. I can't wait to post it.


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN**_: Wow, two updates in one day. Oh well, that's what happens when you're sick, more time to do this kind of stuff. Okay people, here it is. The final chapter. After this, it's all over and I have to start something new. That's okay though, because I've got several ideas stewing and festering inside my brain, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm open.

_**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Yu-gi-oh! Or its characters.

**Chapter 5: Please Forgive Me**

XxxX Three weeks later XxxX

"They're nowhere!" Bakura yelled, banging his fist on the table. "We've scoured the city, searched everywhere, and there is no sign of them!"

The Yamis were sitting at a café in uptown Cairo. They'd been in Egypt for weeks and hadn't found a trace of their Hikaris.

"Well…" Marik said slowly, lifting his head to stare off into the distance. There is one place we haven't looked yet. But I honestly didn't think that Malik would ever go back there."

"You know where they are?" Atemu asked hopefully, leaning forward.

"They could be in the underground tunnels, where the Tomb-keepers were. But Malik hates that place."

"It's our last chance," Bakura said, resignation evident in his voice.

//

"…99…100! Here I come, ready or not!" Ryou called, turning around. The dark tunnel behind him was silent. He grinned. Hide 'n Seek. It might be a children's game, but a maze of underground tunnels and the fact that they were now insubstantial enough to walk through walls made it a lot of fun. Striding off in a random direction, he moved as quietly as he could. He didn't want to alert Malik or Yugi to the fact that he was coming. Looking around, he realized that he was near the entrance to the catacombs. Yugi and Malik wouldn't have come this way. Upon hearing a giggle that could only have been Yugi, he reconsidered. Turning, he tried to determine which direction the sound had come from.

"Marco?" he called jokingly.

"Polo," came a voice and Ryou froze. It wasn't possible. Spinning around, he found himself face to face with Bakura and his breath caught. Bakura was smiling, until he noticed that he could see the wall behind Ryou.

"Holy Ra," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Ryou backed away and his gaze fell on the Millennium Ring around Bakura's neck. His eyes went wide and he cast a fearful glance over his shoulder, hoping for somebody to come around the corner and help him.

"You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't be around us, especially not with those!" he said a little shrilly, pointing at the Ring.

"Ryou," Bakura pleaded, stepping forward and reaching out his hand. He stopped, hurt, when Ryou flinched and shrank from him.

"I can't 'Kura, I can't," he said sadly, shaking his head. He turned to go, but Bakura reached forward and grabbed at his shoulder. As soon as his hand came into contact with Ryou's hazy form, the Millennium Ring glowed brightly. Ryou vanished, leaving nothing but the echoes of his scream.

//

Malik crouched silently behind a crate. He heard the sound of soft voices, the Ryou's scream. Jumping to his feet, he ran in what he assumed was the right direction, calling Ryou's name. Stepping through another stone wall, he came face to face with the one person he least expected to see. He yelled. Marik yelled. They both yelled. Before Malik could do anything else, Yugi came barreling around a corner and slammed straight into him. Since they were both practically ghosts, they couldn't just phase through each other.

"Oh my gosh! Malik are you okay? Where's Ryou? We've got problems! The Yamis are here and Atemu's following me and he's got the Puzzle and…" Yugi's frantic babbling cut off when he caught sight of Marik, who was staring at them both in horror.

Malik looked down and realized that they were both sprawled halfway through the solid wall. Standing up quickly and dragging Yugi with him, he saw the Millennium Rod clasped tightly in Marik's hand. Just then, Atemu came around the corner and spied the group.

"Oh fudge!" Yugi exclaimed and Malik could only nod.

//

The Yamis stood in silence, nobody willing to break the spell that seemed to hold time in place.

Ishizu spoke first.

"They wanted you to be happy."

Those six words acted as a catalyst. Marik slumped to the floor, sobbing like a child, while Atemu sank into a chair, turning the Puzzle over and over in his hands, his eyes gazing unseeing at the far wall. Bakura took out his fury and frustration on several innocent pieces of furniture, reducing them to splinters. Ishizu waited calmly for them to pull themselves together. After a while, Bakura ran out of things to break and Marik's sobs quietened.

"So…what did we do? What happened to them?" Bakura asked through clenched teeth.

"As far as I can determine, since they were in spirit form, they were trapped in the Millennium Items," Ishizu stated. This seemed to break Atemu's trance.

"Does that mean we can still talk to them?" he asked hopefully.

"We are not certain, my pharaoh," came a voice and Shadi stepped from the shadows.

"What do you mean?" Marik sniffed.

"Since they were not the original, intended souls for the items, we cannot be sure what the effects are and what has been done. I would like to retain possession of the items while we attempt to discover what it is that the gods intend. Will you be willing to continue with your present lives, knowing that you may never see your light halves again?" he asked intently, peering at them closely. The Yamis all had identical looks of horror on their faces, but they glanced at each other and seemed to gain some composure. Atemu nodded.

"If we are willing to die for them, we should be able to continue living for them. They gave up their lives for us, we must not throw that away or their sacrifice will have been worthless," he said.

"Good. Now, hand over the items. Shadi will care for them until the time is right," Ishizu said. With heavy hearts and obvious reluctance, the Yamis passed him their items.

"Goodbye my Hikari, until we meet again," Atemu whispered as Shadi vanished with the Puzzle, and the spirit of his aibou.

_**THE END**_

_**AN:**_ Oh no! It's over! But it can't be. I must write more. Please, if you have any suggestions for a sequel, I'd be eternally grateful. Here's a little preview of what I already have, but that's about it. Okay, so goodbye for now everyone. Until I post something new.

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_**Preview:**_

_It was dark. Things chittered in the shadows. They rustled and hissed and whispered things. Horrible things. He concentrated on the light. The only thing visible in the darkness was him. He glowed a little brighter, attempting to see anything beyond the place in the void where he floated. His feeble glow fell upon an object lying on the ground. It was a picture. Turning it over, he could make out the faded image of a boy with tri-coloured hair and knowing crimson eyes. He seemed familiar, like an imaginary friend that had moved away. Perhaps a dream? Something screeched and he was swallowed by a tide of darkness._

_//_

_It was dark. Someone was laughing and it wasn't pleasant. He struggled to move but found himself chained. His only source of light was himself. His faint glow did nothing to alleviate the darkness, it merely gave the shadows a menacing depth. Something glittered on the floor, catching his attention. It was a mirror. Looking at his reflection, he was surprised to see another face beside his. It was similar, with the same white hair and pale skin, but its eyes were sharper and a deeper brown, and its hair was even wilder. The mad laughter was suddenly cut off as a screech echoed all around and the darkness flooded in on him again._

_//_

_It was dark. A cruel wind roared and sand blew all around him. The pale light given off from his glowing body did nothing more that show him where to put his next foot. Hearing a faint noise above the howling gale, he looked up to see a shadowy figure, blonde hair in every direction and indigo eyes glittering with a strange, undefined emotion. He stopped in surprise as vague recognition flickered through him. Reaching out a hesitant hand towards the figure, he stumbled as a screech cut through the sound of the wind and he fell into darkness._

_**AN:**_ Well, that's my preview. Let me know what you think. Love Foxy.


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